Smoke-consuming furnace.



No. 731,546. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903. W. K. CLARK & J. S. DU QUESNE. SMOKE OONSUMING FURNACE.

APPLIUATIO N FILED JAN. 15, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

Fig.1..

No. 731,546. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903. W. K. CLARK & J. S. DU QUESNB.

SMOKE OONSUMING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED JAR.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H6 MODEL.

Enwwtou.

ill/[001% J.SDL2 Ques/v Patented June 23, 1903.

OFFICE.

PATENT WILLIAM K. CLARK AND JOSEPH S. DU QUESNE, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

SMOKE-CONSUIVHNG FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,546, dated J une 23, 1903. Application filed January 15,1903. Serial No. 189,167. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM K. CLARK and JOSEPH S. DU QUESNE, citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smoke-Consuming Furnaces; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to improvements in smoke consuming furnaces in which the smoke is caused to be passed through a brightly-burning fire, and thereby consumed before it reaches the chimney or draft-exit; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a verticallongitudinalsectional viewofasteam' boiler furnace embodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is partly a frontelevation and partly a sectional view of the same on a plane intersecting. the front verticallydisposed fluehead. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View of the same, taken on the plane indicated by the line Ct at of Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a vertical sectional view of the same, taken on a plane intersecting one of the vertically-disposed side fines.

In theembodiment of our invention we provide a furnace which has two separate fireboxes 1 1, which are preferably disposed side by side, andeach of which maybe employed, as in the form of our invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, to heat a boiler 2. Each fire-box is provided with one or more fueldoors 3, and below therespective fire-boxes are ash-pits t 4, each of which has one or more draft-doors 5 5. As here shown, the draft-doors are hinged, and each is provided with a draft-opening 6 and apivotally-mounted cut-0E plate 7 to regulate the effective area thereof. The grates 8 8 of the respective [ire-boxes are inclined longitudinally, their rear sides being lowermost, and hence the grates in stoking become covered with a bed of fuel which is deepest at its rear side.

The tendencyof stokers or firemen is usually to heap the fuel in the front of the fire-boxes and to have it in a shallow bed at the rear side thereof; but by thusincliningthe grates this difficulty is obviated. A wall 9, which maybe of any suitable construction, separates the fireboxes. In the practicalembodiment of our invention it is necessary to provide return-fines for each fire-box. Where the furnace is employed for heating steamboilers, as in the present instance, these return-fines are formed by the boilertubes 10, and it will be understood that the draft from the fire-boxes is rearward under the boilers and then forward through the boilertubes 10, constituting the return-fines, to the front side of the furnace. The latter is provided on its front side with uptake-tines 11, which may be of any suitable construction and here shown as formed by heads 12, secured on the front wall of the furnace and which also cover the front ends or heads of the boilers. Eachuptake-fiue 11 leads to a discharge-flue 13, the latter being here shown as disposed. horizontally above the boilers and converging at their rear ends, where they discharge into the stack or chimney 14, which constitutes the draft-exit. Each uptake-flue 11 also communicates with a cross-flue 15, which is here shown as disposed above the discharge-fines l3 and near the front side of the furnace. At opposite ends of the crossflue are fines 16 16, which are here shown as vertically disposed and on the outer sides of the furnace. The fine 16 communicates at its lower end with the ash-pit 4. The flue l6 communicates at its lower end with the ash-pit 4..

In the ends of the cross-fine 15 are dampers 17 17 which are here shown as slidevalves adapted to move vertically to open and close the respective ends of said crossflnes and as projecting above the upper side of the cross-flue.

The valve 18 controls communication be- 5 tween the uptake-flue 11, the, cross flue l5, and one of the discharge-fines 13. A valve or damper 18 controls communication between the other nptake-flue 11, the cross-flue l5, and the other discharge-flue 13. Each of the said valves 18 18 has an opening in its upper portion and its lower portion solid, so that when it is lowered it closes the front end of the discharge-flue 13 with which it cooperates and establishes communication between one of the uptake-fines and the cross flue 15.

A series of pulleys 19 are journaled in suitable bearings above the furnace and are connected together by an operating-chain 20,

whereby they are adapted to be partly turned are lowered to close communication between the fine 16 and the flue 15, close communication between the uptake-fine 11 of fire-boxl and the fine 13 of said fire-box, and open communication between said flue 11 and said fine 15 the valves or dampers 17 18 are raised in position to open communication between the cross-tlue 15 and the flue 16, close communication between fine 15 and the flue 11 of fire-box 2, and open communication between said fiue 11 and the discharge 13 of fire-box 2.

Assuming the position of the fines or dampers to be as above stated and as shown in Fig. 2 and the draft-doors 5 to be open and the draft-doors 5 to be closed, the smoke from the fire-box 1 will pass rearwardly therefrom to the rear of the boiler above said firebox, then forwardly through the return-fines 10 of said boiler to the uptake-flue 11 in front of said fire-box, from thence into the crossflne 15, through the latter into the fine 16*, which acts in this instance as a downdraftflue and is discharged from said flue 16 into the ash-pit et from which it is caused to ascend and pass through the mass of burning fuel on the grate of the fire-box 1 and is thereby consumed.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the smoke arising from the freshly-stoked fuel in one fire-box is consumed by being passed through the mass of glowing fuel in the other fire-box before reaching the draftexit. Hencebyalternatelyappropriatelystoking the fire-boxes and appropriately changing the position of the valves or flues hereinbefore described, which may be done instantly by a single movement of the lever 25, the smoke may be efiectually consumed, thereby effecting an enonomy of fuel and also obviating the smoke nuisance.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A furnace of the class described having separate fire-boxes, return-fines communicating therewith, uptake-fines to which the return-fines lead, discharge-flues, a cross-flue to which the uptake-fines lead, downtakefines leading respectively from the cross-flue and communicating with the ash-pits of the fire-boxes, and valves to establish or cut 0d communication between the uptake-fines, cross-flue and discharge-fines at will, substantially as described.

2. A furnace of the class described having separate fire-boxes, return-fines communicating therewith, uptake-fines to which the return-tines lead, discharge-fines, a cross-flue to which the uptake-fines lead, downtakeflues leading respectively from the cross-flue and communicating with the ash-pits of the fire-boxes, valves to establish or cut off communication between the respective uptakeflues, discharge-fines and the cross-flue at will, and means to simultaneously reversely operate said valves, substantially as described.

23. A furnace of the class described having separate fire-boxes, return-fines communicating therewith, uptake-fines to which the return-flues lead, discharge-fines, a cross-flue to which the uptake-fines lead, downtakefiues leading respectively from the cross-flue and communicating with the ash-pits of the fire-boxes, and slide-valves to control communication between the uptake-fines, crossflue and discharge-fines, each slide-valve being adapted to close a port between two of said lines and having an opening to simultaneously uncover a port between two of them, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM K. CLARK. JOSEPH S. DU QUESNE. Witnesses:

EUGENE S. LINDSAY, CLARA A. WOOTERS. 

